Off road jack - harbor freight?

Anyone seen this? I just saw an ad for it the other day, might be on sale
didn't know they even sold these.

$50. Cheapest price I've ever heard of on a new off road jack. Financially seems a lot easier to justify throwing one of these in the bed when it's only $50. Besides that would just need some metal holder brackets.
Hopefully it works better than their recalled jack stands; I'm not sure if people will say "This is not the brand you want to be relying on for safety equipment where life depends on it"



seems like some drawbacks though:
a. it's not reputable brand Hi-Lift
b. it's 42" and not the common 48"

 

IDK man, the real deal can be had for $35 more why risk it?

 

I'm all about saving a little money, and SOME of HF's stuff is actually pretty good quality especially given the price (the blue flavor of cordless tools isn't bad, honestly).

That being said, I absolutely wouldn't want to count on one of those. If I needed it to pull fenceposts out or square up a barn door or something, maybe - but trusting it as recovery gear? No way.

 

I bought the Harbor Freight Daytona 3 ton floor jack, its been a real present surprise. Get the better HF stuff and you are probably ok.

 

Don't get me wrong, I've got plenty of HF stuff in my garage. The thing with this jack is that the legit original Hi-Lift brand farm jack is sketchy enough that the thought of using a HF version makes me shudder.

 

Personally, I wouldn't trust my life to any hi lift style jack. I think one of the key directives when using them (or any jack really) is to not put any part of your body anywhere it would get mangled if any part of the jack failed.

Having said that I just bought a princess auto (HF of the great white north) 60" version for $60. The moving parts are clearly inferior stamped metal compared to the real deal but at less than a third of the price here I'm willing to give it a shot.

 

I feel like I bought an Arcan 3-ton aluminum (or aluminum and steel hybrid) for similar price a while ago (Costco even had it) but sold it whereas that HF one looks really heavy and hard to carry (all steel)

 

This. Anyone who's had to use and rely on a Hi Lift on the trail knows how sketchy even the real thing is lol.

Having also seen a Hi Lift fail once, it's not pretty. Luckily the truck's wheels were still on.

Always always lubricate a Hi Lift before use, dry lube works best but even WD-40 will do

 

I hate to be the guy that jumps in and swings it around about Hi-Lifts, so if you don't want to read angry screeching from an Internet stranger, please proceed to the next post.

Hi-Lifts are an example of a tools that are definitely dangerous if you use them wrong. There are a lot of tools like this despite a lot of safety regulations and engineering improvements in the last fifty years - axes, lathes, chainsaws. Some things are pretty hard to idiot-proof, and some things really can't be except by relying on the general fear instinct.

I personally believe based on experience that a HL is at least as dangerous as a chainsaw, but most people don't treat it that way because it doesn't FEEL as dangerous as a chainsaw. It doesn't make a scary noise (unless you count the sound of a load pin shearing), it doesn't have a whirling blade of death that rumbles in your hands like a tool of ultimate primate destruction (It's actually a heavy, primitive, and stupid feeling tool. The HL is reluctant to even rise - the chainsaw was up hours ago and has already beaten you to the kill).

People also get a false sense of security by using it a few times in pretty clean situations and feeling as though they've tamed the beast, whereas chainsaws are something you learn to respect more and more the more you use them, even if you're more confident as well.

That being said, a HL is an extremely powerful tool when it is appropriately used, and when properly set up and operated, also very safe. The problem with using one safely is that it requires thought, planning, and knowing the limits of the situation and the tool.

Most stories I've ever heard enough details about to feel comfortable passing judgment on, including ones I've been responsible for, boil down to improper use and maintenance, NOT the design.

Part of that use is kind of uncomfortable and takes more work - namely, keeping your head and limbs out of the path of the handle should it get away from you and run away. It means standing in awkward places, especially on tight trails or in bad mud, and form gets sloppy fast when a person is tired (like say from jacking a truck out of the mud).

The other part of using a HL is to understand what forces are involved during a given operation, where they're being applied, what's going to move if one succeeds, and just as importantly, what's going to move if one fails. Or if the jack fails. (Or if the rope, or whatever it is fails.)

If are picking out a tool that you expect to save you thousands of dollars, hours or days of your life, or even your actual life; and the price difference between the one that might be OK, and the one used by millions of serious professionals and mall crawlers is less than the gas you're going to burn getting to the problem if you drive there in a straight line...

Are you really gonna go with the kinda shite one?

Then again, if you just need a fashion accessory, they have a cheaper one at Tractor Supply sometimes.

 

You get what you pay for. It’s that simple.

Oh and Hi Lift jacks, real ones, are neither sketchy or dangerous. The idiots using them, on the other hand, get themselves mangled from pure stupidity.

 

My rule of thumb with HF is anything I need that requires accuracy or could take life or limb, I do not buy at HF. Their jack stands are a prime example. Seemingly simple enough tool to not fuck up right?

 

It's not bad, I've used the hf farm jack for pulling out small stumps and fence posts. However for off-road, I'd just get the real deal.

For example, rebuild kits like pins and springs aren't compatible with the hf jack. They're similar but not quite right. They don't fit quite right and make it even sketchier to use. Hi lift accessories like slider adapters, shackle adapter, etc also don't fit sometimes. An actual hi lift can be repaired as every.single.piece on it can be replaced as they can be bought online new, or swapped out with a spare cheap hi lift you find on craigslist. Harbor freight...nah. I mean you can swap it out I guess, so maybe that's a perk.


Basically if you want a hi lift, get an actual hi lift would be my suggestion. Hell, I'd even recommend just getting the aluminum 1.5 or 2.0 aluminum jack from harbor freight and calling it a day. Lighter and less sketchy to use

 

Dead on.

Especially the sterile driveway "familiarization test run" vs the on the trail use.

Not going to lie one of the dumbest but necessary things I've ever done was using my highlift to save myself when stuck in a nasty surprise mud pit, had nice thick grass on top looked solid and when I walked across it the first time it was but it immediately turned into quick sand with the weight and struggle of the truck on it.

So there I was with the nose of my truck pulled up with thigh lift maxed out, even put my "saftey shoelace" tie around the jack rod so it would drop and power ratchet the truck down, but it was still propped up using a river rock and a tree limb doubled up as a base to keep the jack too from sinking into the mud, I can see a small bow in the jack rod itself (and this is a legitimate high loft extreme) and there I am digging out stacking rocks and trying to get the traction board under the semi flying front left tire thinking if this thing even shifts the wrong way from a bumble bee fart I'm going to be reenacting 27 hours.

 

Sometimes, especially offroad, you just need the length, the other benefit of a true high lift Jack over a floor jack is they are set up so that they can be used as a come along, which is the other part of the previously written story here that I had to do to get myself out, used it as a hand jack which was not that easy not going to lie.

Needless to say I now own a Warn winch.

 

ima get
-3-ton jack w/ off road tires, frame lift
-exhaust gas inflatable lift bag from China As Shown On YouTube
-$816 ARB hydraulic hi lift jack

and keep it in a roof box
might strap it to the hood for easy access

 

I have used Hazard Fraught tools for years. My take had always been, if you use it for your livelihood, get the pro tools, if not, HF, Husky, Kobalt, etc. are fine (although some are better than others, depending on the tool). That being said, if it turns into a life threatening situation if the thing fails, I'd avoid HF. I have a HF floor jack, but not HF jack stands, if you get my drift.

 

I had purchased a HF style hi-lift and after seeing how much rust a friends had after just a month of being on his truck, I returned it without taking it out of the box and bought a hi-lift. Yes I realize that tools rust when left out in the elements and this guy didn't have the protective boot on it. When I compared the two items, for the price difference it was worth it to me and I don't do extreme off-roading like a lot of members do.

Hi-Lift

Better Paint job and finish
Better metal
I can't speak to the mechanism as I didn't see the HF one work
Greater length
Accessories are abundant


On a side note, I have a HF Predator generator. I just went looking for replacement parts. There are none. I'm gonna need to make my own air filter.